United will be favorites in the May 21 final, when they will encounter either Crystal Palace or Watford, and Van Gaal will also hope that Martial’s late strike serves to inspire his side in their quest for Champions League qualification.
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The Spaniard was exceptional in the 2-1 victory over Everton at Wembley and made a plenty of saves to deny the Blues, but his penalty stop to thwart Romelu Lukaku in the second half underlined his reputation as one of the world’s best goalkeepers. We were the better team in the first half and had so many chances – we could have finished it much earlier.
Everton manager Roberto Martinez insists he is still the right man for the job after an FA Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester United increased pressure on his position. “Maybe in the future, but I don’t think so”. The Dutchman criticized the referee, while also saying that Martial has room to improve.
Everton eventually equalised through a Chris Smalling own goal, but Martial’s intervention ensured United moved into the final on a day where Carrick said the only thing that mattered was winning.
“It was very tough for us but the spirit of the team was great and we deserved to win this game.
We were a little sluggish in the first half, we got the equaliser but to concede in injury time is a blow nobody deserved”. “Every season we are developing and reaching certain signs where I feel we can please our fans and bring the silverware they deserve”.
Penalty save hero De Gea added: “The penalty save was a key moment, Everton played really well, they had some chances”.
Amid a climax to the game in which both sides had chances to win it, United had Martial to thank after his stoppage time finish.
United was deployed in midfield beyond Marcus Rashford, the 18-year-old forward who has been the breakthrough sensation of their season.
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The relief was clear among the United players as they leapt into the crowd at Wembley Stadium, led by the 20-year-old Martial. “I’ve tried to play what I’ve seen and I think it worked, with me and Michael [Carrick] having a bit more experience in there. Obviously with the start he had he wasn’t going to go on like that for the whole season, but he’s settled down, is coming up with some big goals for us, and you can see the enjoyment in his game”.
